How can we help you?

Residency and Fellowship Programs

At Norwalk Hospital, it’s our honor and a privilege to train new doctors who will continue our tradition of academic excellence and caring for our community. Overseen by Dr. Jonathan M. Fine and with our highly regarded physicians and affiliation with Yale University School of Medicine, our residency and fellowship programs provide high-quality clinical training to support the development of competent, caring medical professionals.

FAQs

Our frequently asked questions page is the place to find all of the answers to your questions regarding the Norwalk Hospital Internal Medicine Residency and Fellowship Programs affiliated with the Yale University School of Medicine.

What are the special aspects of the Norwalk Hospital Internal Medicine Residency?

How do you prepare residents for the Internal Medicine Boards?

Does Norwalk Hospital have a night float system?

Vacation!!! Vacation!!! Vacation!!! How much?

What is the conference schedule like for the medical residents?

How often am I on-call overnight?

Do I have to work every day during certain rotations?

Where have your recent graduates gone? Can I get a prestigious fellowship after completing this residency?

What is the role of residents in residency program decision-making?

Is there special attention to transitions from one year to the next?

When do residents rotate to Yale?

Is it possible to do outside electives at any other location than Yale?

What kind of research opportunities are available at Norwalk Hospital?

Q: What are the special aspects of the Norwalk Hospital Internal Medicine Residency?

A: Our faculty and residents have:

Participated in the creation of the Norwalk Community Health Center, a Federally Qualified Health Center committed to medical education

Monthly resident-faculty meetings which facilitate increased resident participation in residency program development

Created and sustained multiple research projects on topics such as hypertension, diabetes, pulmonary embolism, syncope, viral hepatitis and anesthesia use for gastrointestinal procedures

Won awards for presentations at the regional and national American College of Physicians Annual Meeting as well as at other regional and national specialty meetings

Career mentoring including a structured advisorship program

An annual Leadership Skills Retreat for rising PGY-2 residents

Implemented multidisciplinary rounds on the medical inpatient service to facilitate medical care and residents’ systems-based learning

Been involved in community activities and health fairs to promote health education and wellness

Q: How to you prepare residents for the Internal Medicine Boards?

A: Our educational and clinical experience prepares residents well for the Internal Medicine Boards. The core conference schedule focuses each month on specific organ systems delivered by full-time faculty and speakers from Yale. The annual in-service exams are reviewed with the Program Director to aid studying. There are weekly board review sessions provided by attending physicians and chief residents.

Q: Does Norwalk Hospital have a night float system?

A: Yes. Norwalk Hospital’s Internal Medicine Residency has night float systems in place for the general inpatient service and in the ICU for interns. For Team Care (general medical floor), there is a night float intern handling cross coverage seven days a week for all teams from 7:30 p.m. to 7:30 a.m. Each intern has a pair of two-week blocks on this rotation. A senior medical admitting resident night float has been in place for many years with the on-call Team Care resident returning home to sleep every night.

Q: Vacation!!! Vacation!!! Vacation!!! How much?

A: House staff gets four weeks of vacation per year. Maternity and paternity leave are also available.

Q: What is the conference schedule like for the medical residents?

A: There are many different conferences each week for the residents to attend. Core conferences are attended on all rotations, and there are specific additional teaching conferences during Team Care and Ambulatory rotations. There are weekly Grand Rounds and four lunchtime resident-oriented conferences per week. Core conferences are teleconferenced between the hospital and NCHC with participation of residents and faculty at both sites at lunchtime with food provided. There are also subspecialty conferences. A selection of teleconferenced Yale University School of Medicine conferences are screened at Norwalk Hospital.

On Team Care, resident report is an integral part of inpatient medical education. The first-year residents on Team Care attend a special intern report once a week. Second- and third-year residents attend Morning Report four times a week. Furthermore, on Team Care, there are daily Attending Rounds, except for Thursdays. In the Critical Care Facility, there are daily ICU and CCU rounds with the Team, which consists of four first-year residents, two second-year residents, one third-year resident, a Pulmonary/Critical Care fellow and an attending from Pulmonary/Critical Care Medicine or Cardiology.

Ambulatory conferences, as well as special courses on physical diagnosis skills, patient interviewing, quality improvement and evidence-based medicine are provided during the ambulatory block rotation.

Q: How often are you on-call overnight?

A: On-call varies by residency year and the service that you are on. Our on-call schedule varies by rotation:

First Year: No overnight call. On average, interns do four weeks of night float on the general medical wards per year. While on the ICU rotation, each intern provides one week of night coverage.

Second Year: No overnight call on general medical service and every third night in critical care.

Third Year: No overnight call on general medical service and every third night in critical care.

Q: Do I have to work every day during certain rotations?

A: No. Even during the busiest rotations, you will get on average of at least one day off every week.

Q: Where have your recent graduates gone? Can we get a prestigious fellowship after completing this residency?

A: For the past several years, many of our graduates have entered fellowship programs, with other graduates entering practice or research positions at major institutions. The quality of fellowship placements is outstanding. Several of our more recent graduates are enjoying careers as hospitalists.

Q: What is the role of residents in residency program decision-making?

A: There is a longstanding monthly interactive Resident-Faculty Meeting, which provides a forum for input and review of changes planned for the residency.

Q: Is there special attention to transitions from one year to the next?

A: The Department of Medicine faculty and staff are devoted to the promotion and well-being of our residents. Besides mentoring, we have formalized a retreat for interns becoming PGY-2 residents and meetings for residents in each year to enhance leadership and cohesiveness.

Q: When do residents rotate to Yale?

A: PGY-2s and PGY-3s rotate to Yale for electives. Usually this includes a month at the PGY-2 level and up to three months at the PGY-3 level.

Q: Is it possible to do outside electives at any other location than Yale?

A: Sometimes PGY-2 or PGY-3 residents make special arrangements to do electives in a different part of the country where they are planning to move for fellowship or private practice. In addition, international rotations all over the world are possible.

Q: What kind of research opportunities are available at Norwalk Hospital?

A: As outlined in the previous section, Norwalk Hospital has an intense commitment to scholarly activity. Residents are currently active in studying the diagnosis and treatment of hypertension, diabetes, anemia evaluation, pneumonia, syncope and others. Many opportunities exist to join projects underway; however, there is more than enough help here at Norwalk to start your own!

For those interested in “bench” research, there are also numerous opportunities at Yale to work with cutting-edge physicians nationally known for their subspecialty work. Special research blocks are given to interested residents who wish to pursue these opportunities.